Following Constellations
by Pastel Ink
Summary: Yukito asks her to come with him on a journey, but he takes her back to her mothers home. He tells Minagi that it's her choice, but she says "I'll go with you."
1. July: The Salty Air

You know what's weird? AIR is under Games. KANON is under anime. CLANNAD is under anime. All three were games first, anime second. If one is under game, the rest should be, or if two are under anime, all of them should be. And ONE, which is yet another game by KEY that has it's own anime, does not seem to exist under EITHER section.

Also there is no Planetarian section under Games, but that's okay since not as many people know about it.

Bah.

* * *

**July**

He tells her it's her own decision only. Minagi's mind races. She hears her voice repeating her thoughts back to her, but it's too fast and too much being said and she has to stop, go back, try to think them again more clearly. But they're different then, and changed. She's never heard her voice speaking so quickly, she's always been so calm and slow.

She stares at her hand; at the door-knob. Hears the clippers from the backyard. Her mother is in the garden.

She turns to Yukito and says "I'll go with you."

The sun is setting behind him, and he sees that she's squinting through the light to look at him. She blinks rapidly, and he stares silently, trying to keep the surprise off his face.

"Come on," he says, and turns away, leading her to the old train station. She follows him without question. He hears her snivel, hears the fabric of her clothing shift as her shoulders shake. But when they reach the station and she sits down beside him on the bench, there are no tears. She held them back the whole way.

He lets her cry into his shirt. She's quiet, and does her best not to get snot on him, though there's no stopping the tears from soaking through.

Somehow he's acutely aware that there is nothing he can do. It feels strange, not being able to help, for once. Misuzu always wanted to play, Kijiri always wanted help for favors for Kano. For once, he feels distanced, and wishes he could exchange everything, and somehow stop her tears.

He wants to say something comforting, but all that comes out is "What about Michiru?"

The brunette just shakes her head. Awkwardly, Yukito pets her hair and waits for her to calm down. His hand tangles in her hair ribbons and he sighs, untying them gently, so as not to pull her hair. He sets them aside.

Minagi pulls away after a long moment and wipes at her red eyes. She asks, voice as slow as ever, though it shakes, "Do we have to leave right away?"

The man shakes his head. "I'm traveling with no destination or deadlines."

Minagi nods.

They sit in silence, and listen to the cicadas. It's calming, Minagi thinks, and wonders if the sound is so vivid in other towns. She wonders if the air tastes less salty, wonders if the stars are as clear in the night. If the waves will whisper her to sleep as they camp outside like they have at the empty train station. In other towns, she thinks, surely the trains will be active. She wonders where they will sleep.

Her thoughts flood through her head, straying off tracks and too fast to stop. They're loud, overly-so, and she winces at the onslaught. But they come to a halt, and she feels as if the words and ideas are still echoing while simultaneously silenced without a trace.

Only one thing remains. She envisions Michiru, standing alone on the sidewalk. Her skin glows in the sunlight, her pigtails waft up lightly in the breeze. She says nothing. Just waits. Minagi wills the image to burst like a bubble; to go away.

"May we bring Michiru?" She asks, and already knows that they can't.

Yukito pauses much longer than she'd expect, for a question with such an obvious answer. He gives her a mildly pained look, and says "We can't."

"I know," she says. She reasons, "Michiru can't… Take care of herself. We might not have enough money… So… I know."

The silver-haired man just nods. The train station's bench is uncomfortable, and he shifts in his seat.

Noticing his movement, Minagi stands up, wipes her eyes, and says "I'll make us dinner." She grabs her hair ribbons off the bench and pockets them.

She wants to feel less stiff, wants to loosen herself up a bit. Her legs shake, and she realizes that she is far more nervous now than she was at the door to her home. But she forces herself to walk, forces her stomach to calm itself, and tries to force herself not to over-think her decision.

While she goes about setting up the portable stove-top, he watches. Her knees wobble, he notices, but doesn't say anything.

He wonders how having a companion will change his journey. A girl, at that. He has faith that she won't be a hindrance. She is mature, reasonable, calm, resourceful. As he had said before, she might have even been better suited to travel than him. She had packed her things tidily, having both clothes and useful tools for cooking. The fact that now he can buy food to be prepared rather than having to eat at cheap restaurants all the time will cut down on his money spent enough to make up for the fact that she doesn't bring in any. He hopes.

She sniffles once or twice while the rice is cooking, but doesn't waver in her actions. She makes miso-soup, though it's instant, and serves him filtered tap water to drink. Gingerly, she sets down his portion beside him on the bench. She takes a seat on the small space left, empty-handed.

When he gives her a curious look, she smiles softly. "I'm not hungry."

So he eats, and she waits patiently. He knows they have so much more to talk about, so much more to decide. His journeys are spontaneous; they're aimless and random and reckless. But now he has someone he needs to protect. There aren't many plans they need to make, but those they do need to make must be made carefully.

He knows they need to talk deeply. It might take hours. It might take days. It might even be months before they leave this town. He knows that they will leave eventually, he trusts her not to go back on her word as much as he wishes she could.

But the sun sets while Minagi washes the cheap plastic dishes and re-packs her supplies.

Yukito says "We'll talk tomorrow. About what to do, what to bring, where to go."

The girl is somehow already done with her cleaning, he assumes because it was only one person's worth of dishes, and she is already pulling out a thick quilt from her bag. It's obviously been used quite a bit, for many years. It has a few tears in the seams, but it looks warm, and the patterns on the patches aren't all terribly girly.

"Despite the time of year," she says, "It can become quite cold at night." She holds the folded blanket out to him.

"Seriously?" The man asks, dryly. "I haven't gotten cold yet, and I've been out at night plenty."

She looks mildly concerned by this, and looks from the blanket to him, and back. She puts a hand to her cheek, looking increasingly troubled when he makes no moves to take it from her.

"You use it," he says, sighing.

This seems to console her enough, and she brightens. Yukito begins to lie down on the bench, but Minagi catches him and let's out a quiet "Not tonight."

Thinking she wants the bench he rushes to say "Oh, my bad. You can have the bench," but she shakes her head.

Instead, she nods towards the door to the station. "I have the key to get inside." At the grin that quickly spreads across the man's face, Minagi adds, "Of course, there's no heating or electricity, but it's better to sleep indoors while we can."

While we can.

Yukito notes her obvious recognition that they won't be in this town forever, but doesn't know how to respond. He trails behind her as she gently slides the key in, turns it, and pushes the door open. She stands aside to let him in before retrieving the key and following, carrying her things behind her, 'just in case.'

She says "I didn't intend to use it at all, to be honest…"

It's a small room. It had looked small from the outside, but it seems even smaller now that he is inside. There's an office area, which Minagi explains she doesn't have the keys to. In the corner of the room there is a stack of cushioned chairs that he assumes originally served as the waiting area. It looks so empty.

Minagi spreads the quilt out across the floor. It's larger than he expected; they could easily both fit underneath it. She smiles at him while arranging her duffel bag of clothes as a makeshift pillow, and he averts his eyes, feeling awkward from the idea. When he looks back, she is pulling a large T-shirt out from her bag.

She faces the other way and begins to pull off her dress. Startled, Yukito doesn't have time to look away; much faster than he usually sees her move, she unbuttons the under-shirt and removes the tie. Her bra is dark blue. It has small stars on it, and he snickers.

He sees her shoulders jump at the noise, but she pulls her over-sized shirt over her head before looking back to him, one eyebrow raised and lips parted curiously. Yukito shrugs. The brunette nods slowly, reaching behind herself to unhook her bra. She pulls the straps off her arms through the sleeves, and drops the underwear into her bag.

Realistically, the man supposes, it's better that she's comfortable with him. If she's going to be with him for so long, on such a strange journey, she'll need to be okay with this sort of thing. He's just surprised that she's so comfortable so fast.

Minagi stands up for a moment. Her shirt is hardly mid-thigh, and she uselessly tugs it down before going to each corner of the blanket and straightening it. She yawns quietly, then crawls underneath the blanket and lays her head down on the her bag-pillow. It takes Yukito a moment to realize that she's lying under the far side of the bed, using only the edge of her bag. It takes even longer for him to notice the borderline impatient look she gives him.

"Don't tell me… You expect me to sleep beside you?" He asks, and gives his best skeptical look.

The girl pats the empty space beside her.

Yukito shakes his head, and finds another area to lie down in. He uses his arm as a pillow and faces the wall to avoid Minagi's staring. It feels like hours in the quiet darkness, but he knows it has been only one hour at most. For a while he hears the girl crying softly for only a few short moments that feel far too long, but she falls asleep and her breathing evens out before he can decide whether or not he'll be able to comfort her and if it's worth it or not.

So, staring at the wall and making out the small cracks and indents by their darker shadows in an already dark room, he thinks as calmly and rationally as his head will allow him. He thinks about what to do and where to go, and how to explain his thinking about what to do and where to go to Minagi tomorrow. He thinks briefly about what to do about Michiru, but he falls asleep after only a few moments of thoughts that didn't reach any conclusion, and forgets all of his musings.

* * *

oh god I don't even


	2. July: Settling Dust

Wait what is happening I do not

* * *

When he wakes up, he's immediately over-come by the smell of miso-soup. He's lying on his back, and tilts his head to examine his surroundings. The train station room. Minagi's blanket is folded in a corner, and her duffel bag is placed beside it. He stands up and stretches with audible and mildly painful pops and cracks. He's used to it, though, and after giving himself a quick once-over in the reflection of the office's window, finger-combing his hair, he heads outside.

The sun is shining brightly, making him acutely aware of his parched throat. Michiru bounces over to him, spilling rice from the bowl in her hand. She tries to grab his nose with her chopsticks, but he steps to the side.

Minagi is cleaning, two breakfast plates set beside her. She motions that one is for him, and he takes it gratefully. He eats in silence, save for grunts as he fights off Michiru's occasional attempt to grab his food. Minagi scolds her gently, eventually, but she pouts long enough to receive half of the older girl's own breakfast.

After eating, they speak normally. Michiru is lively and bubbly, while the other two play along without mentioning their plans. But they eventually slip into silence again. Yukito stares up at the sun, and after a long pause, suddenly remembers, and sits up in a start.

"What time is it?!"

"Almost… Eleven?" Minagi answers.

Yukito relaxes, leaning back. Never-the-less, he stands up. "I'm supposed to walk Misuzu to school, so I'll be back later."

Minagi nods slowly. She checks to see if Michiru is listening, but the red-haired girl is a distance away, trying to blow bubbles. When she's sure the girl won't hear, Minagi says "I'm going to check the mail. I'm expecting a letter from my father."

"I'll play with Michiru when I get back, then," Yukito says, standing and preparing to leave.

"It's okay," Minagi shakes her head, and says slowly, "Michiru… Always avoids my house. So even if I go while she is with me, I'm sure she'll go somewhere else."

He just nods and waves shortly before hurrying off.

The walk is long, but uneventful save for being too hot. He's getting used to it. He adapts to different weather easily, since he can't usually afford season-appropriate clothing. He sees Potato run by, but it looks determined, so he doesn't bother it. He wonders when he started being able to read its expressions.

When he reaches Misuzu's house, she is standing outside, leaning against the fencing, staring down at her bag. He approaches, and waits for her to notice him.

The girl jumps visibly when she does, and fumbles with her bag for a moment. "Y-Y-Yukito-san, good morning," she says, sounding more embarrassed than excited. He wonders why that's upsetting.

She stares at him blankly. Feeling awkward, he begins to lead the way to school. She follows in silence. She usually tells him about her dreams, but today she says nothing. He eyes her curiously, watches her small, rushed steps beside him. He gives in.

"Did you have any dreams last night?"

Her expression doesn't waver. She just stares straight ahead and asks "Did you?"

He has to think on this a moment. He dreams occasionally, but rarely makes notes of them. He feels a lingering sense of a story on the edge of his mind. He dreamt, he's sure of it, but he can't remember what it was about.

So he speaks as he remembers; slowly. "I did, I think. About my mother, and the legends she told me. About the winged girl."

Misuzu doesn't comment, but he gets to distinct feeling she isn't listening, and stops talking. The walk to the school is in silence, and his stomach feels full of butterflies. He wonders when the last time he was nervous was. It's rare. As a traveler he's learned to let go of a lot of those feelings. Feeling awkward in a new place, being shy, being overly-polite. Those will get in the way, and he doesn't want to learn them now, when he's about to leave. Being around Misuzu makes him wonder too much.

They stop in front of the school, at the cross-walk. Misuzu smiles, but it seems forced. More forced than usual. She says "Bye," but he stops her before she can leave;

"Wait."

She does. She looks at him over her shoulder.

"I'm going to be leaving, soon," he says.

"I know," Misuzu says, and stares at him for a moment, as if waiting for him to say something else. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't question it. She says, "Good luck."

He doesn't know what else to say, and when he finally decides to say 'thank you,' or maybe 'take care of yourself,' it's too late; she's already stumbling her way through the school gates.

***

Minagi is there to greet him when he returns. He waits for the greeting, but it doesn't come. She sits on the bench in silence, staring at a letter in her hands. Instead, Yukito sits down beside her.

Wordlessly she hands the letter to him. He takes it and skims over it. The writing is formal, with many kanji he has to think a moment to recall. For a moment he's impressed that Minagi read the whole thing easily. Well, he assumes she didn't have trouble. She looks at him curiously, and he realizes he's been staring at her. He redirects his gaze back to the letter.

"So?" He asks, handing it back.

"It's an invitation," she says, looking genuinely concerned that he might not have understood. He sighs, and the girl beside him looks thoughtful. "We… Don't have any destination, do we?"

Yukito sighs. "Is that a request?"

Minagi nods, looking apologetic.

"It's fine," he says. "We'll go. There's no real reason not to."

She brightens, but only slightly, still looking rather down. Almost reflexively, he finds himself rubbing he head.

She scoots away, and gives him her most frustrated look while she fixes her hair ribbons. Her angry face looks content, really, and he has to stop himself from snorting at her comical attempt to look mad.

He waits for her to calm down. When she has, she surprises him, turning and regarding him, curious once again. She begins, "May we…" and he hears her gasp, then say "Michiru." She's looking past him; he follows her gaze, craning his neck to look.

Michiru stands a distance away, expressionless.

* * *

There's a mystery going on and I'm gonna stop it instead of solve it.


End file.
